Lady Bears vs. Gonzaga

There is one hour before tip-off at JQH Arena, and the Lady Bears are stretching. The visitors this December afternoon — nationally ranked Gonzaga — are lofting practice shots on the opposite end of the floor. Near half court, a 5-year-old boy mimics the home team as they bounce through their pregame routine. He trails behind the rest, lifting his knees while the players have moved on to the next stretch.

The son of Missouri State coaches Kellie and Jon Harper gazes up and catches the eye of Danielle Gitzen in maroon warmups moving alongside him. The team’s leading scorer this season — preparing for her 67th appearance in the Lady Bears’ starting lineup — makes an exaggerated motion to demonstrate the right stretch.

The Lady Bears (6-7, 2-0 MVC) enter play against Southern Illinois on Sunday riding a five-game winning streak, including a sweep of Valley opponents to open the conference schedule. For the third straight year, MSU stumbled to a 4-7 mark in nonconference play — but included in the loss column this season are two overtime defeats on the road, a four-point loss at No. 14 Mizzou and a three-point setback against No. 21 Gonzaga.

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The Missouri State Lady Bears' Danielle Gitzen looks for an open teammate against Ball State University at JQH Arena in Springfield on November 17, 2018.(Photo: Bruce E. Stidham/Special to the News-Leader)

The Lady Bears’ resilience is a testament to Gitzen’s ability to fill the void left by Liza Fruendt — who graduated in 2018 ranked seventh on the program’s all-time scoring list — and a surge of young talent led by freshman forward Jasmine Franklin.

“I think it’s just taking on more responsibility and just kind of filling that role,” Gitzen said about becoming the team’s leader. “I feel like being the only senior, it’s kind of inevitable and so I feel like I’ve taken it on rather well. It’s kind of exciting and fun.”

“Right now she’s our most competitive player,” head coach Kellie Harper said. “She has been — this is not anything new for our team — she’s been competitive since the day she stepped on this campus. I think she’s always gone out with something to prove — that’s the way she plays, that she’s as good as anybody.”

Gitzen appeared in every game her freshman season, helping the Lady Bears win the MVC tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. She scored six points and saw 22 minutes of action in the opening round loss to Texas A&M. By the middle of her sophomore year, the classmates that entered the program with her were gone.

“I don’t think, sometimes, people understand what all goes into it — how much work that these players put into their academics, their health, their training, practices, games, scouting reports — it’s a lot,” Harper said.

"In addition to that, a lot of these players are away from home for the first time ever. They have to have made the right decision, they have to have the right fit … I think sometimes you see players pull up short of what could be a really good career. We’re really fortunate that Danielle is still here and has really made herself into a top player.”

“I don’t think, sometimes, people understand what all goes into it — how much work that these players put into their academics, their health, their training, practices, games, scouting reports — it’s a lot.”

Kellie Harper, head coach

For Gitzen, the fit at Missouri State was immediate.

During her recruiting visit, she bonded with the girls that she called her “‘home away from home’ family.” An opportunity to play for Harper — who won three national championships under Pat Summitt during her playing career at Tennessee — and Lady Bears’ legend and assistant coach Jackie Stiles was also too good to pass up.

That wasn’t all that attracted the Victoria, Minnesota native to the Ozarks.

Gitzen grew up in a basketball family; her father and brother both played college basketball in Minnesota. She credits sibling rivalry with steering her toward the hardwood.

“My older brother was always playing basketball … we’re definitely a competitive family and so I just always wanted to be kind of like him,” Gitzen said. “My dad and brother were always in the gym and so that kind of got me into basketball. I was a dancer before.”

Jasmine Franklin — the prize of Harper’s most recent recruiting class — might also have strayed from basketball but for the encouragement from family.

“They were a big influence on me, like telling me to keep going with basketball because there was a point in time I didn’t know if I wanted to do basketball or track,” said Franklin, a four-time Arkansas state champion in the shot put for Fayetteville High School.

The freshman forward enjoyed a coming-out party during her Missouri Valley debut at JQH Arena last weekend, and she was awarded Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week honors after notching double-doubles in the Lady Bears’ victories over Indiana State and Evansville.

“Jasmine is athletic, she’s skilled and she has a high motor. I love all those things,” Harper said when asked what she observed during the recruiting process. “We needed a post player that could get on the glass and we knew she could do that. We got so much more than just a rebounder with her.”

Franklin averages 9.7 points per game and leads the team with 89 rebounds. Those totals might be higher but for a team-high 48 personal fouls that have kept her on the bench more than Harper would like.

“The biggest thing for us is keeping her out on the court,” Harper said. “She fouled out of some games and she’s been in foul trouble a lot of games. You know, we’re going down the stretch in our game against Little Rock, it’s a tight game and for the first time we’re in a tight game and Jasmine is available. She’s not been available in some of our other close games, and I think that makes a difference. She makes a difference.”

“It’s a lot,” Franklin said of the transition to playing Division I competition. “It’s fast, up-paced and everything is going really fast, but I’m enjoying it — I like it a lot. I like to play loose … I don’t want to get too uptight because then I’ll start over-thinking.”

Fans in attendance in the Lady Bears’ conference opener were introduced to Franklin’s swagger.

At center court moments before tip-off, the scoreboard showed her dancing to the pregame music pumping over the sound system at JQH Arena. Franklin then erupted for 14 points and eight rebounds in the first half as MSU cruised by Indiana State.

“Our team wants to throw Jasmine the ball,” Harper said afterward. “I think if they could throw her the ball every single time down the court, they would.”

While Senior Day on March 3 will belong only to Gitzen, that is unlikely to be the case for Franklin’s freshman class. There are five freshmen on the roster and four have appeared in all 13 games this season — the other has played in 12 games.

Gitzen reached postseason play each of her three seasons in Springfield, as the Lady Bears qualified for the WNIT twice after reaching the NCAA Tournament in her first campaign. On the verge of her final sprint through the Valley, she hopes to lead her talented and maturing teammates to another NCAA appearance.

“There’s like no words. That would be amazing — that’s what the goal is, that’s what I want to do,” Gitzen said. “There’s nothing like playing in the NCAA Tournament.”